The big loser in Monday’s Canadian federal election? Media companies who raked in record revenues over the course of that 78-day campaign. The tens of millions spent by the Conservatives on all those, “He’s just not ready” ads plus further tens of millions spent by the Liberals and the NDP, plus assorted special interest groups,
While in Cannes two weeks ago to attend MIPCOM, I had a lovely visit with Valerie Creighton, the President and CEO of the Canada Media Fund (CMF). Besides her funding responsibilities, Creighton is a tireless advocate for Canadian content and she has the passion and vigor for the job. We sat in these horribly uncomfortable chairs
John Oliver weighs in on Canada’s federal election and nails it. Makes Oliver’s dissection of the bumbling Fords look like a valentine. Consider this gem: “Canada is America’s next-door neighbour, and Stephen Harper is her dick-head boyfriend.” The host of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver seizes on an obscure, lame-ass law forbidding outsiders to weigh in
UPDATED: The numbers posted by the victorious Toronto Blue Jays during the ALDS are incredible: an overnight, estimated 4.85 million viewers watched that unforgettable fifth and deciding game on Sportsnet Wednesday night, peaking at a staggering 8.1 million by the final out. That tally followed 4,377,000 viewers for Game 4 vs Texas on Thanksgiving Monday afternoon and
Just before I go on his early afternoon show each Wednesday, I can hear CHML’s Scott Thompson yakking about something else. Today it was the news that Playboy is dropping naked women from its pages. I begin our segment by vowing to take up the slack on TV Feeds My Family. That is not going
It’s a tad early to begin promoting Christmas specials, but, well, this looks promising. Written by Sofia Coppola, Bill Murray and Mitch Glazer and directed by Sofia Coppola. Features George Clooney, Paul Shaffer, Amy Poehler, Julie White, Dimitri Dimitrov, Michael Cera, Chris Rock, David Johansen, Maya Rudolph, Jason Schwartzman, Jenny Lewis, the band Phoenix, Frederic Moulin, Rashida
I can’t quite say hats off to PBS for airing Mary Tyler Moore: A Celebration. (Tuesday night at 8 p.m. PT; check local PBS listings). It’s listed as a PBS Pioneers of Television presentation. Having just watched the special on the East Coast, I have to agree with many critics who already pointed out that it
CANNES, France–This was the MIPCOM that never was. On Saturday–two days before I arrived in Cannes–terrible storms whipped this Mediterranean seaport, dumping 120 days worth of rain in two hours. Delegates who arrived early, some to attend children’s TV marketplace MIP Junior, were caught in dangerous floodwaters. Some waded out of restaurants in water past their